Ex-WWE Superstar Christopher Nowinski — who currently works as a key figure advocating for more education and research on concussions for the Sports Legacy Institute — was recently interviewed on the Busted Open Radio Show (Sirius ch. 94, XM ch. 208). Two items of note in Nowinski’s interview were his accounts of conversations he had with both Randy Orton and Chris Benoit:
Nowinski on Conversations with Randy Orton:
Nowinski says that Randy Orton has shown increased interest in learning about concussions and is now advocating for increased time off to heal from injuries, especially bumps to the head. Nowinski says this is a huge culture change from the era he wrestled in WWE (2002-2003) where concussions were viewed as soft and no big deal. He says:
“A guy like Randy Orton just didn’t buy into it, and I ran into him in March, and he started talking about his concussion experiences and he was like, ‘Gosh I didn’t know it was that bad.’ He is an advocate for himself now to take time off and so it’s interesting to see this turn.”
Nowinski on Conversations with Chris Benoit prior to Benoit’s double murder / suicide:
Nowinski says his primary mission with the Sports Legacy Institute is to figure out the root causes of the concussion-related CTE disease so it can be prevented in future generations. Nowinski states that Chris Benoit showed these CTE-like signs in conversations they had before Benoit committed double murder/suicide in June 2007. Says Nowinski:
“We incorporated Sports Legacies ten days before the Benoit tragedy. A year prior to that I sat down with Benoit when I was still working for (WWE) and he just started asking me questions … He was more interested than any other wrestler, which helps me realize that he actually knew there was something wrong with him. He asked me about how many concussions I had and I asked him and he said, ‘Well, I had more concussions than I can count.’ So, because he told me that and then he told me to give him a call. I remember months later… I called him and he acted like he didn’t know why I was calling after he gave me his number. So, I thought maybe there was a memory thing or maybe a mood thing going on. So, when it happened, I was sure that is why it happened.”
